I. ˈnach(ə)rəl+V also -chərl adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French natural, naturel, from Latin naturalis, from natura nature + -alis -al — more at nature
1. : based upon the innate moral feeling or inherent sense of right and wrong held to characterize mankind
principles of equity and natural justice — J.D.Johnson
— see natural law
2.
a. : in accordance with or determined by nature : based upon the operations of the physical world
natural year
— see natural logarithm , natural number ; compare day 1, 2
b. : having or constituting a classification or other method of arrangement based on features existing in nature
3.
a. chiefly dialect
(1) : begotten as distinguished from adopted ; especially : begotten in wedlock : legitimate
all the children, whether male or female, natural or adopted — Thomas Robinson
(2) : being a relation by actual consanguinity or kinship by descent as distinguished from adoption
any child … found guilty of cursing or striking his natural parents — American Guide Series: Connecticut
b.
(1) : born out of wedlock ; specifically : illegitimate — see natural child
(2) : being a relation by consanguinity as opposed to a legally recognized relationship
4. : having an essential relationship with someone or something : possessing a normal connection with someone or something : consonant with the nature or character of someone or something
his guilt is a natural deduction from the facts
5. : implanted or held to be implanted by nature : existing or present from birth : being part of the constitution of a person : not acquired : inborn , innate
some natural inability to observe — Ellen Glasgow
our natural abhorrence of war — F.D.Roosevelt
— see natural parts 2
6. : of, relating to, or concerned with nature as an object of study and research
some natural observations made — Philosophical Transactions
— see natural history , natural philosophy , natural science
7. : having a specified character by nature
natural fool
natural idiot
natural pacer
a natural leader
8. : white 3c
natural magic
9.
a. : occurring in conformity with the ordinary course of nature : not supernatural, marvelous, or miraculous
the natural process of growth — H.W.H.King
a world where natural forces overwhelmed him — R.B.West
the rate of natural increase of the … population was quite high — Kingsley Davis
natural causes
b. : having a normal or usual character : not exceptional
digressions … natural in a work taken down from oral dictation — G.F.Hudson
10. : having a relationship with something by reason of the conditions, events, or circumstances of the case or in line with normal experience
theory and practice are a kind of natural opposites — C.E.Montague
the natural enemies of originality — Clive Bell
11. : characterized by qualities (as warm and genuine feelings, affection, or gratitude) held to be part of the nature of man
a wicked old screw … why wasn't he natural in his lifetime — Charles Dickens
12. obsolete : natural-born
natural subjects
13.
a. : planted or growing by itself : not cultivated or introduced artificially
natural grass
b. : existing in or produced by nature : consisting of objects so existing or produced : not artificial (as in form or construction)
agricultural commodities in their raw and natural state — U.S. Code
these natural deposits of potassium salts — A.C.Morrison
the vast natural wealth of the country — William Tate
14.
a. : being in a state of nature without spiritual enlightenment : unregenerate
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God — 1 Cor 2:14 (Authorized Version)
b. : living in or as if in a state of nature untouched by the influences of civilization and society
an apotheosis of natural man, with consequent exaltation of appetite — W.L.Grossman
15.
a. : having a physical or real existence as contrasted with one that is spiritual, intellectual, or psychical
the natural world
b. : of, relating to, or operating in the physical as opposed to the spiritual world
natural laws … merely describe what actually happens — Maurice Cranston & J.W.N.Watkins
16. obsolete : native-born
17.
a. : closely resembling the object imitated : true to nature : according to life
the Israeli flag … illustrated in natural colors — K.B.Stiles
doves natural do not have little crests — F.M.Ford
drawn to natural scale
b. : having the ease or simplicity of nature : free from artificiality, affectation, or constraint : springing from true sentiment : easy , simple
successful people are genuine and natural rather than synthetic and imitative — Gilbert Seldes
at ease with us …, always spontaneous and natural — Dorothy Bussy
c. : having a form or appearance found in nature
natural hair
18.
a. : having neither flats nor sharps — used of a key or scale in music
the natural scale of C major
b. : being neither sharped nor flatted — used of a musical note or tone
c. : having the pitch as indicated in musical notation modified by the natural (sense 7a)
d. : produced without aid of stops, valves, slides, or other supplementary devices — used of a harmonic or tone from a wind and stringed instrument
e. : not falsetto — used of a man's singing voice
19.
a. : not being the joker or a wild card — used of a playing card
b. : containing no wild card — used of a combination of cards
20. : of the color natural
Synonyms:
simple , unaffected , artless , unsophisticated , ingenuous , naïve : natural stresses easy freedom from the artificial, stiff, constrained, or formal
the fact is that a poetic language which appears natural to one age will appear unnatural or artificial to another — C.D.Lewis
the poor man had no natural, spontaneous human speech … he habitually expressed himself in a book-learned language — Willa Cather
simple indicates lack of duplicity and artifice in one's character or thought along with suggestion of lack of complexity and artificiality
the straight and simple, the homespun, simple, valiant English Truth — H.G.Wells
simple and earnest people, however, being accustomed to speak from their genuine impulses, cannot easily, as craftier men do, avoid the subject which they have at heart — Nathaniel Hawthorne
unaffected stresses lack of affectation and indicates a simple naturalness without connoting much else
his simple manners and unaffected friendliness were attractive — A.W.Long
she's the best-natured and most unaffected young creature — W.M.Thackeray
artless indicates freedom from calculation about the effects of what one says or does and a consequent ease
her simple, artless behaviour, and modest kindness of demeanour, won all their unsophisticated hearts — W.M.Thackeray
almost every turn in the artless little maid's prattle touched a new mood in him — George Meredith
unsophisticated stresses lack of knowledge of and experience with worldly matters bringing discretion, reserve, adroitness, smoothness
not elegant or artificial, too much the unsophisticated child of nature — Rose Macaulay
a race almost wholly unsophisticated by intercourse with strangers — Herman Melville
ingenuous indicates lack of any subtlety, dissimulation, calculation; it indicates unrestrained and unmasked frankness
Father had set a dog on him. A less ingenuous character would be silent about such passages — H.G.Wells
“yet I've done very well this year. Oh yes,” he went on with ingenuous enthusiasm — Thomas Hardy
naïve stresses lack of worldly wisdom and sophistication with resulting freshness, candor, or innocence untutored and unchecked by convention
the future arch master of love proved to be a naïve and candid swain at the beginning of his career — P.H.Lang
that naïve patriotism which leads every race to regard itself as evidently superior to every other — J.W.Krutch
Synonym: see in addition regular .
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: partly from Middle French naturel, natural, from naturel, natural, adjective; partly from English natural (I)
1. obsolete : a native inhabitant of a place (as a region or country)
2. naturals plural , obsolete : the gifts, powers, and abilities with which a person is endowed by nature
a person of excellent naturals — Theophilus Gale
3. : one born without the usual powers of reason and understanding : a half-witted person : idiot
with the vacant grin of a natural — Charles Gibbon
4. naturals plural , obsolete : the objects of the natural world : natural as distinguished from unnatural or supernatural things
5. obsolete : the natural character or disposition of a person : the natural form or condition of an animate object (as a flower)
6. naturals plural , obsolete
a. : a natural state or condition
in their pure naturals, they were wonderfully abstemious — Thomas Fuller
b. : a state of nakedness — usually used in the phrase in one's pure naturals
7.
a. : the character or sign ♮ placed on any degree of the musical staff to nullify the effect of a preceding sharp or flat
b. : a note or tone affected by the natural sign
8. : a result or combination that immediately wins the stake in a game: as
a. : a throw of 7 or 11 on the first cast in craps
b. : blackjack 6c
c. : a count of 8 or 9 in the first two cards at baccarat
d. : ranche
9. : something that is natural as distinguished from artificial or supernatural
all culture is thus … a negation of the natural — Leon Livingstone
this social philosophy, based like contemporary science on the natural — New Republic
study the supernatural as the philosopher studies the natural — Frederic Myers
10. : a shot in billiards held to be easy because the ball can be pocketed directly or in carom billiards by a simple angle shot
11. : a variable color averaging a yellowish gray that is lighter and slightly redder than average sand and redder and deeper than ivory tint
12.
a. : one having natural skills, talents, or abilities often to an unusual degree and usually requiring no special training or development for success in a specific line of endeavor
as an actor, he was a natural
b. : something that by its very nature is or is likely to become an immediate and genuine success
as much a natural as rubber on the end of a pencil — Irving Kolodin
fight fans discussed the … rematch as a natural — Newsweek
the idea of this book is a natural — Carl Bridenbaugh
c. : one constituting an easy, appropriate, and usually successful selection for a specific purpose by possession of various natural qualities
the review characterizing some new novel as a natural for pictures — P.S.Nathan
the legal process … is a natural for delaying tactics — Titus Lord
fearless and cool in the face of disaster, he was a natural for the job — Newsweek
13. : a close pase in bullfighting done with the muleta in the left hand — compare derechazo
Synonyms: see fool
III. adjective
1. : relating to or being natural food
2. of hair : styled in an Afro
• natural noun